June 7, 2010
Sibley Memorial Hospital in D.C. to join Johns Hopkins Medicine
In a move to address growing interest in more efficient, integrated regional health care services for patients, officials of Sibley Memorial Hospital and The Johns Hopkins Health System Corp. have announced their intention to enter into discussions regarding the integration of Sibley Hospital into the Johns Hopkins Health System.
Both systems say it is anticipated that Sibley will join JHHS in early fall 2010 after due diligence is completed. The proposed transaction will not involve financial exchanges.
If the transaction is completed and implemented as planned, the Washington, D.C.–
based Sibley Hospital will become a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine but will retain both its name and commitment to its community. Leadership and day-to-day operations at Sibley are not expected to change as a result of the integration.
JHHS and its affiliates, including The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital and Suburban Hospital, along with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, make up Johns Hopkins Medicine.
On May 26, Sibley Hospital’s board of trustees expressed its intent for Sibley to join JHM, as did the JHHS board earlier on May 3.
“The alliance between Sibley Memorial Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine is an important step in advancing health care delivery in the local community and the greater Washington, D.C., region, said Robert L. Sloan,” Sibley’s president and CEO.
While details of the proposed transaction are still to be finalized, the basic outlines of the plan call for Sibley to retain its voluntary medical staff and physician organization. In addition, the plan calls for Sibley to operate under the direction of the JHHS governance structure in the same manner as The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital and Suburban Hospital.
“As a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine, Sibley will be a key force in the development of an integrated system of care for the national capital region, focused on improving health by providing access to state-of-the-art clinical medicine that’s supported by a strong base of research and medical education,” said Edward D. Miller, the Frances Watt Baker, M.D., and Lenox D. Baker Jr. Dean of the Medical Faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Our goal is to unite two mission-minded organizations that share a vision of providing both the highest quality care and greatest access for our patients. This alliance strengthens each institution’s ability to serve patients along the full continuum of care, creating new opportunities to provide the right care, at the right time and at the right place. We are committed to preserving the best of this outstanding community and regional asset, all the while helping Sibley expand its mission to include research and teaching.”
According to Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System President Ronald R. Peterson, partnering with Sibley was a strategic as well as a philosophical decision. “Sibley is strong financially, very highly regarded in its community and located in the nation’s capital,” he said. “Having it as part of the Hopkins family provides us the critical mass to better position ourselves to provide an integrated, regional approach to care, which we anticipate the future will demand.”
Steven J. Thompson, senior vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said, “We face a new era that will bring major reforms and demands for more rational and efficient ways of delivering care. Increasingly, our decisions on how best to accommodate these changes must be based on sound and practical strategies,” he said. “What we must never lose sight of during these turbulent times is that every decision we make has to be in the best interests of our patients and the communities we serve.”